Senate Bill 14 amends the Election Code to require a voter, on offering to vote, to present to an election officer at the polling place one of the following acceptable forms of photo identification:

· a driver's license, election identification certificate, or personal identification card issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

· a United States military identification card that contains the person's photograph that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation;

· a United States citizenship certificate issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;

· a United States passport issued to the person that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation; or

· a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person by DPS that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation.

The bill removes items from the list of documentation acceptable as proof of identification for voting and exempts from the photo identification requirement a person with a disability who provides certain documentation. It establishes procedures for accepting for voting a voter with the required documentation who is not on the precinct list of registered voters and amends procedures for accepting for provisional voting a voter without a certificate who is not on the list.

Senate Bill 14 amends provisions establishing the regular procedure for accepting a voter, including adding the requirement that the voter present an acceptable form of photo identification, removing the requirement that the voter present only the voter's voter registration certificate, and authorizing a voter who does not meet the identification requirements either to be accepted for provisional voting or to be informed of the voter's right to cast a provisional ballot and provided information relating to provisional voting requirements. It includes among the conditions for accepting a provisional ballot that the voter meets the identification requirements, executes an affidavit stating that the voter has a consistently held religious objection to being photographed for governmental purposes, or executes an affidavit stating that the voter does not have any identification meeting the requirements as a result of a natural disaster meeting certain conditions. The voter may present the identification to the voter registrar or execute such an affidavit in the presence of the voter registrar not later than the sixth day after the election.

Senate Bill 14 establishes requirements for notifying voters of the identification requirements for voting and for statewide voter identification education provided by the secretary of state and provides for training of election officers and election clerks on the acceptance and handling of the required identification. The bill authorizes state funds allocated for certain voter registration expenses also to be used for additional expenses related to activities to expand voter registration. The bill increases the penalty for an illegal voting offense from a third degree felony to a second degree felony and increases the penalty for an attempted illegal voting offense from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.

Senate Bill 14 amends the Transportation Code to set out provisions relating to the issuance of an election identification certificate by DPS.

The provisions of Senate Bill 14 relating to notification of voter identification requirements, voter education, training of election officers and clerks, and funding for activities to expand voter registration take effect September 1, 2011; all other provisions take effect January 1, 2012.

Senate Bill 14	Senate Author: Fraser et al.
Effective: See below	House Sponsor: Harless et al.